NRSC to pull 'hicky' W.Va. ad

The National Republican Senatorial Committee plans to pull an ad criticizing West Virginia Democratic Gov. Joe Manchin, after POLITICO's report that a talent agency had sought what it called a "hicky" look when casting the spot.

"The ad was due to rotate out anyway in a few days and be replaced with a new one," a GOP official said Thursday. "But clearly the Democrats want to use this to distract from Manchin’s record, and we have no intention of letting them. So expect it to be replaced with a new ad soon."

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The NRSC began airing the ad this week in the West Virginia Senate race, in which Manchin is facing a sudden scare from Republican businessman John Raese (pronounced “racy”) in the contest to replace the late Sen. Robert Byrd.

The ad shows a couple of regular-looking guys commiserating in a diner about Manchin. The men are actors, and the spot was filmed in Philadelphia.

“We are going for a ‘Hicky’ Blue Collar look,” read the casting call for the ad. “These characters are from West Virginia so think coal miner/trucker looks.”

Earlier Thursday, Manchin had called on Raese to apologize. “Not only have they been spending millions to try and buy this election with lies and distortions, we can now see once and for all what he and his friends really think of West Virginia and our people,” Manchin said.

The casting language did not come from the NRSC but from a vendor who told the talent agency what to look for in selecting actors for the spot. The casting material was provided to POLITICO by Democrats.